


Moonfire Faire is Best with Friends

by Jimmy_Rustled_Bird



Series: Wondrous Tails FFXIV Scraps and Scribbles 2020 [2]
Category: Final Fantasy XIV
Genre: Ambiguous Relationships, Day At The Beach, F/M, Friendship, Friendship/Love, Gen, Male-Female Friendship, Moonfire Faire (Final Fantasy XIV), Somebody Lives/Not Everyone Dies
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-27
Updated: 2020-04-27
Packaged: 2021-02-23 03:23:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,402
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23871565
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jimmy_Rustled_Bird/pseuds/Jimmy_Rustled_Bird
Summary: It's the Moonfire Faire.  Foulques and Mingxia happened to be around Costa del Sol as the festivities kicked off.  Neither of them have celebrated this before, so they take the lull between jobs to see what the big deal is.  This is a kind of training too, right?  Having fun is also important!Aka Obligatory beach scene.
Relationships: Foulques & Original Female Character, Foulques & Warrior of Light (Final Fantasy XIV), Foulques/Warrior of Light (Final Fantasy XIV)
Series: Wondrous Tails FFXIV Scraps and Scribbles 2020 [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1694854
Comments: 2
Kudos: 9





	Moonfire Faire is Best with Friends

Foulques stood in the shade of a tall rocky outcrop, just a bit off the path leading to Costa del Sol. He glanced at the sky periodically, and to anyone passing by, he was clearly waiting for someone.

Said someone came bounding from the general direction of Wineport within the bell, a piece of paper clutched tightly in one hand. “Sorry, Senior! I hope I didn’t keep you too long. I heard about something interesting.”

“Hm? What would that be?” Foulques inquired, shaking his head to indicate he hadn’t been there for that long.

“Moonfire Faire! Apparently there’s this festival going on at Costa del Sol-oh, right over there!” Mingxia answered, nodding at the nearby resort which was positively buzzing with activity. “...Ehm, what _is_ the Moonfire Faire? The brochure wasn’t very clear about it. It mentioned something about Bombards?” Foulques raised an eyebrow in mild disbelief and crossed his arms, leaning against the rock.

“Unbelievable. You have never heard of the Moonfire Faire? This is one of the most notorious festivals in the continent.” Foulques remarked.

“Mm, no, can’t say I have. Foreign, remember? Mama never said much about it either.” Mingxia replied.

“Ah, right. Though I have never attended the Faire myself, it is quite a popular attraction in the heat of the summer. The festival, according to rumour, differs from year to year, however, it typically features an obstacle course that spans a small section of the beach and ocean. If you prefer to craft, the folk here always require assistance preparing enough fried fish, rolanberry shaved ice and lemonade. Whether or not you are helping to corral Bombards, however, is up for debate. During the evenings, there are fireworks.” Foulques explained, gesturing at the different structures set up along the beach.

“Oh! That sounds like fun! Do you think we could go?” Mingxia asked hopefully.

“This is not an activity I usually indulge in. It is too noisy for my tastes,” Foulques started. Mingxia’s expression sank.

“Well, I mean, if it’s not something you like, I won’t push you into it. I thought it would be nice to go with a friend,” she said, trying to hide her disappointment.

Foulques sighed, pushing his bangs out of his face. “I did not say we would not go. As I said, this is not something I usually do, but we have some suns before we are required to appear for duty.”

“Yay!” Mingxia couldn’t help cheering, jumping a little for joy. “Ah, we’re not even in there yet, and I’m already excited!”

Foulques sighed, the corner of his mouth ticked up in a small smile. “Did you bring a swimsuit?” He pulled at the aether and switched into a set of swimwear. He even had shades, and his spear was replaced by a beach umbrella.

“Yep! I finally finished the set from the Palace of the Dead!” Mingxia followed suit, her armor trading places with a peach-dyed Moonfire Faire ensemble in a cloud of aether. They started walking towards the festival grounds. “Ooh, I can’t wait! I’ve never actually been to a festival before! I wonder what rolanberry ice tastes like? And fried fish! I’ve only ever had it steamed or roasted. Do you think we can go swimming? I feel like I haven’t touched seawater in forever!” She rambled on, gesturing animatedly.

Foulques shrugged and shook his head. “If you wish to go swimming, I won’t stop you, so long as you do not try to drag me in with you.”

“Eh? You don’t like swimming? The ocean’s usually quite nice though. Not too hot, not too cold, and floating on the surface is simply the best!” Mingxia ducked forwards slightly, trying to peer under his glasses. He stared down at her, mouth set in a barely-noticeable tense line.

“...” Foulques found an occupied patch of beach and planted his umbrella. “I did mention that I do not typically attend festivals, did I not?”

“Mmkay," Mingxia said, dashing off into the throng of people, clearly eager to see what there was to see. Foulques, in the meantime, tossed a towel under the umbrella and sat under it, watching the bustle of activity. The beach was certainly lively- and noisy, besides, with the way shrieks and laughter filled the air, punctuated by loud splashes as people fell from the obstacle course. Somewhere in the crowd, he thought he could hear Mingxia jabbering excitedly about something or another, but paid it no mind. He looked over the tall wooden structure, and observed people hopping and running across it to the platform at the end. The course itself looked easy enough, though with how many people were attempting it while soggy, the wood must be more slippery than it looked. 

His expression soured at the thought of falling in the ocean. His displeasure deepened as someone’s griffin came charging by, kicking sand all over him. He sputtered and stood up, dusting himself off and trying to get the sand out. There was sand in his face, sand in his hair, sand on his front, and sand in places they frankly should _not_ be in.

“Foulques!” Mingxia chirped, popping out of the water close to shore. She waved to him cheerfully, shaking tendrils of hair out of her face. “The water’s _really_ nice here! ...Might help get the sand out, too.”

Well, so much for avoiding the water. Still dusting himself off and trying to get the sand out of his mouth and eyes, he joined her in the spray. Mingxia offered him a pair of conspicuously dry goggles. 

“And what would these be for?” he asked, shaking sand out of his hair- hopefully before they got wet and stuck.

“Keeping seawater out of your eyes! So you can see under the surface. I dunked the entire thing in a waterproofing solution! It’s like an entirely different world underwater!” Mingxia explained, shaking the goggles at him.

“I don’t see you wearing any,” he remarked, taking the goggles, but not immediately putting them on.

“I don’t need them! I’m used to it. I’m a fisherman’s daughter! The ocean is as much home to me as my own house! The salt doesn’t bother me- but if you’ve only been in freshwater, it’ll sting your eyes.” Mingxia replied, tipping her head up to look at him. Her eyes were slightly red, but she didn’t look any worse for the wear. He adjusted the strap and put the goggles on.

“These look ridiculous,” he said, running a hand through sand-dusted hair and scowling as another grainy cloud left them.

“You’re fine!” she assured him, tugging lightly on his hand to try to coax him into deeper water. He took a few steps more and didn’t go any further, eyeing the deeper water suspiciously. She stopped and tilted her head in question. “Um, is something the matter? Are you uneasy in the water?”

Foulques bristled at her comment. “I am fine, I assure you. I am not afraid of this _water_ ,” he huffed, pushing out farther into the ocean. 

“I never said you were. Most people do fear the ocean though...even her children,” she said, splashing out beside him with the ease of a fish. Once again he stopped when he was up to his chest, trying to resist the sway of the waves. She peered up at him from where she was treading water, confused as to why he was stopping where he was and not moving. And then it clicked. “Ne, Foulques, do you...um...not know how to swim in waves?”

He glowered at her. “What of it? I believe I mentioned never having attended this event, nor have I been in the ocean.”

Mingxia paddled back to where he was. “Sorry, sorry. I was so excited to see the sea again,” she said. “I can help though! If you want. Have you swam in the Shroud before?”

“Of course I have- !” he started, when a strong wave surged in and nearly knocked him off his feet. He dug his heels further into the sand. Beside him, Mingxia was floating on her back, watching him. A moment later, she righted herself, swam over, and stood beside him on a rock on the seafloor.

“Don’t fight the ocean. If you get knocked off your feet, lay back and float. Let the waves carry you to where it’s calmer and then...um...what do you call this?” Mingxia mimed a front crawl, but smaller. 

“A front crawl.” Foulques supplied, regarding her doubtfully. 

“Yeah that. Don’t fight the current, either. If you got swept out, go at a small diagonal to the shore. You save more energy like that,” she said. Another wave came in, stronger this time, and swept Foulques’ feet out from under him. “Just float! It’ll be okay!” With no other choice than sinking, he lay back and tried to float like he normally would in the lakes and rivers.

He started to sink. Mingxia stuck her hands out and pushed up under his back. “Your advice isn’t working very well,” he informed her.

“Tryin keeping your belly up. Don’t let your middle relax too much. And wider, you want to be wide, it helps the floating.” She gave the small of his back an emphatic press upwards. He did as she asked, determined not to lose to the sea of all things, and it no longer felt like she was the only thing holding him up. “Yep, just like that! Um, I’m going to let go now.” Slowly the pressure on his back disappeared- but he stayed above water. He floated for a few minutes more, begrudgingly agreeing that yes, this was kind of relaxing, actually. He flipped over and swam back to shallower water, standing up once he could.

 _Splash!_

He spluttered as a plume of water drenched the side of his head. “Who did that?” He turned, finding Mingxia giggling. He raised a brow at her. “Is that a challenge?” 

She smiled impishly at him- and splashed at him again, drenching his face and daring him to splash her back. “Yep! Loser’s buying lunch!”

“Very well then! I hope you will not have regrets later!” He slapped the surface of the water and smirked as his counterattack caught her in the face. Though she was surprised for a split second, this only spurred her on. They dashed up and down the coastline, splashing at each other and trying to dodge, getting thoroughly soaked when they finally tired of the game and returned to Foulques’ umbrella. Chocobell was sunbathing near it, and watching their bags.

“Where are you looking?” Foulques said, drenching her one last time as she turned to look at the obstacle course. She yelped as the cold water hit her back. “Do not take your eyes off your opponent!”

“Bleeh,” she stuck her tongue out playfully at him and made to splash at him again, only for him to dodge. He splashed at her relentlessly, grinning. “Fine, fine I yield!” She held her hands up in surrender. “Guess lunch is my treat! Do you want water or lemonade?”

“I would prefer water,” he replied.

“Okie-dokie,” she chirped, and scampered off. He went back to his spot, picked up the towel and shook the sand out of it. He laid it back down and sat, absently running his fingers through the chocobo’s back feathers while letting his eyes roam. His legs and arms felt a little bit heavy- had they been running around that much? 

Mingxia came back with two paper bags of fish, popoto fries, rolanberry ice and drinks. “Here’s yours,” she passed him one of the bags and a repurposed mason jar of water with a striped straw sticking out of it. She filled her chocobo’s water and food bowls, and opened her bag, eager to try all this foreign food she’d never seen before.

They chatted as they ate. She told him about all of the new things she’d seen, eyes sparkling as she spoke. Every so often he would add his input, elaborating on some things and bickering about others. 

“Ever had lemonade before?” she asked after as they lounged under the umbrella.

He shook his head, a sardonic smile on his face. “Never could afford it when a merchant brought it to town.” 

She offered him her mason jar. “Want a sip? I haven’t had any yet.” He gave her a strange look- _are you serious?_ She shook it gently at him, rattling the ice inside. He shrugged and leaned over, taking a pull from her jar- and made a face. 

“‘Tis far too sweet for my liking,” he remarked. He watched as she took a tentative sip of the bright yellow concoction.

“Really? It’s so good!” she giggled. “And oh, it’s bubbly!” She continued to happily slurp on it while they watched beachgoers attempt the obstacle course.

“You wish to challenge that course, do you not?” Mingxia turned at Foulques’ offhand comment. The promise of competition tinged his words. She raised a brow at his question, an answering grin on her face.

“What makes you say that?” she replied coyly, all but confirming his statement.

“Ha! You never have been one to turn down the chance to fly, to try anything new. Come then! Let us try the course! It will be good training for you, anyroad, to get you lighter on your feet.” Foulques stood up, taking a few steps forward and turning back to see if she would follow.

“Kweh?” Chocobell asked.

“Yep, gonna try that big one over there. Thanks for watching our stuff, my fluffy friend. If you want to run, you can.” She plucked out a remote from her bag and pressed it. Moments later a Magitek Death Claw came down from the sky and formed a cage around their bags. She clipped the remote to a ring on her swimwear top, and ran after Foulques.

“Kweh-weh!” Chocobell stood, stretched, and flew out to the shallows, happily splashing with the other chocobos in the water.

Meanwhile, Foulques and Mingxia were lining up for the obstacle course. It was a tall structure- tall enough that they needed to use a portal just to get to the starting point. There were narrow beams they would have to balance and jump off of, hard corner turns on said narrow beams, and a climbing wall they would have to negotiate. The course was over the deep part of the ocean, so if anyone fell, they wouldn’t break anything worse than their dignity.

Finally it was their turn. They took the portal and made it to the starting point. A wordless nod, and off they went.

Or well, off Foulques went. Having been born and raised in the forest, running and jumping across narrow beams wasn’t exactly difficult. He had a few near falls from how slippery the start of the course was, but managed to make it to the finishing platform without much trouble.

Mingxia, on the other hand, well…

When Foulques had made it halfway up the course, he’d paused to look back at where she was, to gauge her progress. She was carefully and slowly walking across the beam, keeping her eyes on the beam and testing each step before committing to it. Then, as she was to jump the narrow steps, she’d missed the middle of the third platform, caught the edge, and fell into the water. Undaunted, however, she swam back to the portal, hopped back up, and tried again. The second time, she managed to jump to the first checkpoint- and promptly fell at the high jump, smacking into the edge of the next platform and falling, again.

He waited for her at the end of the course. In total, she’d fallen and retried five times, barely managing to avoid falling in close to the end with a lucky catch on the dry part of the landing point and hauling herself up. 

“Ma- heeeeh- made it!” she panted, doubled over and trying to catch her breath. “That was fun! Hard, but fun! I-I bet in a few more tries, I’ll be good enough to run through easy!”

“I take it you have never done this before, then.” Foulques remarked, standing up from the spot he’d been sitting in to spectate.

She shook her head, heaving a few more breaths before standing back up, evidently all fired up to go again. “Nope!”

“I would advise you, then, not to stop between checkpoints. Maintain your motion, and you will conserve your momentum, which will allow you to negotiate the jumps more easily. Also, do not feel like you have to use only your legs. Make use of your arms to stabilize your hops,” he instructed her, motioning to the more proficient runners (many of whom were Miqo’te) who were jumping the narrow blocks with both arms and legs.

“Like them? Or like you?” she asked. He nodded. “Alright, I’ll do my best!” Without waiting for him, she swan-dived off the platform, swimming back to shore and lining up to try again. He shrugged and jumped in, figuring another run just for fun wouldn’t be so bad. Perhaps getting a few of those coins wouldn’t be a bad idea either. He hadn’t been to check the vendor out- mayhaps they would have something interesting worth purchasing.

“I’ll race you to the top!” Mingxia pointed excitedly up the course.

“Pfft, make it up there once without falling and _then_ you can race me. It would be unfair to accept a challenge when you take a dip at least twice per section.” Foulques chortled, taking off at a quick jog. 

“Hey!” Mingxia laughed, and followed after. She was still a bit wobbly on the beam, but she went a little faster, this time. Heeding his advice, she whooped as she frog-hopped across the narrow jumping-stairs, landing on all fours on the first checkpoint, and immediately dashing to the wall. This too, she was able to clear with less trouble, though she found herself plastered against the wall a few times. Standing on the second checkpoint, she backed up a few steps and dashed to the gap, leaping up as if she were a bird trying to take flight, clearing the edge of the next platform and landing solidly on it. The referee at the end congratulated her and handed her some tokens for something. She found Foulques perched at the end of the plank like last time, smirking as she slid in beside him.

“Well done,” he congratulated her. “So. Still feel like that race?”

“You’re so on.” She leaned slightly forward, eager to start.

“Heh, I knew you wouldn’t back down from a challenge,” he said, smirking. “On my mark. Three, two, one- go!”

They took off, streaking across the obstacle course. Mingxia lagged behind early on, still not confident in her ability to cross the narrow beams, but made up for the lost time in the second leg. Foulques, however, made it across the finish line first. “What kept you?” he teased. 

She stuck her tongue out at him. “Mweeeh, not my fault I have short legs!”

“Pfft, excuses,” he scoffed with a laugh. “You are swift enough when you need to be.”

“Again then!” she said with a grin. 

“Best two out of three?” he proposed.

“Heck yeah.”

They ran the course three more times. Mingxia won- barely, the first time, but following that, she started to tire, and Foulques claimed their next two matches. They went to browse the vendor’s wares (Mingxia bought another swimsuit ensemble with her tokens) and returned to their spot on the beach as the sun was going down. Foulques went to get their dinner, despite Mingxia’s protests (even though she could barely move for how tired the consecutive races had her). 

Somehow the beach became even busier during the night. New stalls opened up, the lights came on, and at about nine bells in the evening, fireworks were set off. People gathered at the seashore and lit their sparklers. They set up a tent a bit further up the hill- neither of them felt like travelling, not even by aetheryte.

“That, that was fun,” Mingxia said drowsily, smiling widely at Foulques as they crawled into their bedrolls. “Thank you, Foulques. Let’s do this again next year.”

He smiled, not that she could see (or notice, really, she seemed to have fallen asleep). “Mayhaps we shall.”

**Author's Note:**

> Wondrous Tales fill for Holiday celebrations.
> 
> ...eeey guess who's up to her 3am shenanigans AGAIN....


End file.
